My first tentative steps into RC: a scratchbuilt F-22 Raptor in foam…

Do I really need another hobby? Sigh. Oh well, it appears that whether I need one or not, I’ve taken my first tentative steps into the world of radio controlled airplanes, and I have Mark H. of the Eastbay RC blog to blame. Mark is a fellow Pixarian, and has lately been sucked into the world of model aircraft, building both autonomous UAVs as well as more conventional aircraft. I first started talking to him about this stuff through our interest in the Arduino, but he’s got me interested in scratch building my first RC aircraft.

To entice me (and to serve as a model for copying) Mark left his version of the F-22 Raptor in my care:

Mark’s scratchbuilt F-22 Raptor, in EPP Foam

The design comes from this posting on rcgroups.com, and seems pretty straightforward. But I’m so inexperienced with this stuff, I was a little bit intimidated, so I spent most of the weekend staring at the plans, and digging up further resources. The page above listed this nice vimeo video:

which is also available in four parts on YouTube (glad to find, so I could watch it on my Apple TV on the big screen TV):

When I start working on mine, I’ll post more pictures and information. I did stop by Harbor Freight and picked up some X-acto knives and one of the Dremel-tool-knockoffs, and I picked up a Turnigy 9X transmitter-receiver pair. Stay tuned for more soon!

Comments

Comment from LeeTime 7/24/2012 at 8:50 pm

Wow. I have way to many hobbies also. I think it is an undiagnosed version of “Adult Attention Deficit Disorder” I have an RC electric glider I built in 88. Called the “Electra”. No covering till a fellow employee gave me the name of a builder who would put the skin on for 100 bones. 1999 I think. Still not flown. A Harbor Freight RC plane {yup they sold a few models} that I flew and crashed once. 2008 I think. I’ts rebuild and ready to go again. A rat shack RC Cesna with lites. Flown once in too windy conditions and crashed. A park ranger let me in to the flood basin to recover it. Cleaned up and ready to go again. 2010 ish. And an RC helicopter the spouse gave me in 2011 still in the box. HAM Radio, RC planes, computers, 4 wheel drive trucks, motorcycles, yada yada yada. AADD I’m telling ya.
KE6 Papa Chubby Tango

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About Myself…

I'm Mark VandeWettering, husband, proud father of a U.S. Airman, grand dad of two beautiful grand daughters, technical director at Pixar Animation Studios, telescope maker, computer science and math afficianado, an Extra class radio amateur licensed as K6HX, and all around geek. I hope you enjoy my website.